Dick Trickle Did Some Really Legendary Things During His Race Car Driving Career

Back in May, legendary race car driver Dick Tricklepassed away at the age of 71 after committing suicide inside of a cemetery in Boger City, N.C. So yesterday, SB Nationput together a long feature on Trickle called "Elegy of a Race Car Driver" by writer Jeremy Markovich that features lots and lots (and lots!) of great stories about Trickle's legacy. One of our favorite stories in the piece comes about halfway through the feature when Markovich talks about a few of the crazy things that Trickle did in order to win races. What kinds of things? Well…

"He once told a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reporter about the time when he blew a water pump in a race, got on the P.A. and asked if anyone in the crowd had a Ford," Markovich writes. "A guy drove his car down to the pits. Trickle pulled the water pump off, put it on his car, won the race, and gave it back. Another time he blew an engine, pulled one out of a tow truck, dropped it in his car, and won that race also."

Pretty incredible stuff. And the rest of the feature is filled with stories that are just as, if not more impressive. You can check it out over here. R.I.P. to a guy who will clearly be missed by the entire racing community. He sounds like he was a hell of a driver and, more importantly, one hell of a person.